1. Field
Embodiments relate to a mobile robot and a localization and map building method thereof, and more particularly, to a mobile robot to simultaneously perform localization and map building using omni-directional images and a simultaneous localization and map building method of the mobile robot.
2. Description of the Related Art
For navigation of a mobile robot in an environment having obstacles, the robot needs to track its location and build a map for the surrounding environment. This is because path planning of the robot, manipulation of an object, or communication with people may be performed using the map.
For navigation in an unknown environment, a robot should build a map while tracking a location thereof. However, since a robot basically tracks a location thereof and builds a map using infrared sensor data containing noise, there is a difficulty in calculation of the location.
Map building models environments by observing natural or artificial landmarks based on the sensor data, and through this modeling, the robot sets a path thereof. Meanwhile, in order to perform modeling of a complicated environment, location tracking should be ensured and thus a reliable map may be built.
Location tracking refers to determining an absolute location of a robot within a work environment using sensor information and natural landmarks. Errors may occur for various reasons (e.g. sliding between robot wheels and the ground, variation in the radius of robot wheels) while a robot moves. That is, as the robot moves, an error in a location of the robot occurs. Accordingly, a method to correct for the error is required.